The Sun, The Moon and The Star
by Homura Made Me Do This
Summary: "You watched too much romance movies." NozoEli with NicoMaki near the end.


**A/N :** I know, Soldier Game, right? I'm working on it but this is an idea that popped out of nowhere, so I figured I'll let this out and put this here. Hope nobody's done this before.

 **Disclaimer :** I don't own Love Live! but if I do I would steal all the Nozomi URs.

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 **The Sun, The Moon and The Star**

Maki had no idea why she had stayed behind, helping out in the student council's office despite not having any business with anything or anyone. Perhaps a little part of her wanted to lend a hand, seeing the amount of boxes a certain student council president had to move around. Her vice president had excused herself to get some groceries—she remembered seeing a huge sign at a nearby store, something about a big discount. Not that she'd pay attention to her surroundings that much, but that sign was way too _huge_. Nozomi did say she'd come back later on.

It was also raining quite hard outside, almost limiting her field of vision. Probably the biggest reason why she decided to help—it was better than doing nothing at all and just listening to the raindrops pitter-pattering against the window. If it was a drizzle, she could have just rushed her way home, shielding her head with her schoolbag to keep herself as dry as possible. She might have lost her trust towards the weather forecast because they only mentioned it would be cloudy and there would only be a _slight_ chance of rain.

"—Maki, can you move that box over to the corner?" Eli asked, rummaging through a box while stuffing more papers into it. Archives, maybe.

The redhead said nothing, not even asking exactly which corner it was. She just took it to the nearest one, where there were boxes stacked on top of one another. It was about time to voice out her confusion, maybe, "What's with all the boxes? You gonna move the office somewhere else?"

"Nope, these are the things we need to dispose of—garbage," Eli took something out from the box; a crooked stapler, "The previous president was… irresponsible, to say the least."

Maki sighed, "Why didn't you take these things out way back then?"

"They were still usable," Eli shrugged, "It would be a waste, no?"

… Well if they _were_ still usable and these things were broken recently… could be because of Eli's recklessness too, but she decided to shrug it off; there was no point in saying it now. She was too tired from the practice session that Umi had prepared for them, whereas Eli seemed to have unlimited energy. Big chances she would lose anyway if she started an argument that was unnecessary to begin with.

Watching the older girl doing the rest of the easier tasks, Maki rested her hand on the desk, almost knocking a deck of tarot cards off it.

Wait… tarot cards?

"Hey, Nozomi's not taking these with her?" Maki said as she picked up the deck, browsing through every single one of the cards even though she hadn't a single interest.

"Ah, she was in a hurry," Eli muttered, raising her eyebrows, "Just put it back there, she always remembers where she left her belongings."

"That's neat," Maki said, stopping when she saw three cards in a row—The Moon, The Sun and The Star. Whether they were purposefully placed in that order or not, curiosity took the best of her—and a question she had always wanted to ask popped up in her head, "I have a question, though."

"What's up? I'm not all that busy anymore," Eli leaned back onto the desk behind her, staring right into Maki's puzzled violet orbs.

Deadpanning, Maki pulled out the three cards that piqued her interest, clearing her throat as if to ask a serious question—well, perhaps to her, it _was_ serious, "Say, if Nozomi's associated with the moon… wouldn't it be better if you're associated with sun? How did you even end up being the star anyway?"

"—Whoa, that's so random. I can't believe Nico's randomness is rubbing off on you," Eli chuckled.

"… Sh-shut up and just answer me!" Maki felt warmth going up to her cheeks, averting her gaze away as she played with a strand of her hair, "It's… it's what I've been curious about."

"Well, how should I put this…" Eli made a thoughtful expression, tapping a finger on her chin as she stared at the ceiling, "… hmm… to put it simply, have you seen the sun and the moon together? Like, at the same time?"

"Huh? Of course not, but it's a pretty common story around here—that 'the sun' and 'the moon' are in love with each other," Maki tilted her head, recalling the bedtime story her mother used to read her when she was a child.

Eli's gaze turned into something that was between loneliness and longing, "But they never reunite, do they?"

"… Yeah," Maki placed the cards back into the deck, shuffling it in slight boredom, "Still, the moon can't shine without the sun, you know."

"Isn't the sun a star itself?" Eli asked, grinning playfully when she saw Maki flinch for a split second, "If you're still expecting more answers, Maki… I have to say I don't want to be the sun. I _can't_ be the sun."

"Why?" Maki was even more curious than before, furrowing her eyebrows as she placed the tarot deck to where it was before.

"My light is dim," Maki was amazed at how Eli could change her expression drastically from playful to melancholic in no time, "So I can't help her to shine. I'm simply one of those flickering lights in the night sky."

It sounded a bit sad to Maki's ears, as much as she didn't want to take it seriously at first. As if Eli had accepted her weakness, not denying that she had her own imperfections at all. Different, but at the same time, it was also the Eli she was familiar with, "I see… I just thought it would make more sense if you were the sun."

"Senseless as it is, Maki," Eli smiled warmly at the younger girl, "Instead of shining brilliantly alone, I'd really rather be the star to Nozomi's moon, so I can be with her in the dark."

Eli sure was full of surprises, or so Maki thought. Never before had she thought of her senior as someone that could say such a thing smoothly without hesitation. Not that she was completely bewildered; in fact, she couldn't be far more amazed. Though being unable to express herself properly, she looked away and grunted, "You watched too much romance movies."

"Hey!" Eli laughed, "I was just saying how I actually feel, you know. But… there's actually another reason why I can't be the sun…"

"Hah?" Maki raised an eyebrow, her curiosity kicking in again.

"… Well, you'll see for yourself, sooner or later," Eli muttered, picking up her bag as the sound of a door sliding open echoed throughout the room.

In the doorway was Nozomi with an almost-full plastic bag in her hand, smiling almost as immediately as she saw icy blue eyes looking in her direction, "Sorry I'm late, Elicchi."

Eli shook her head, "It's alright. It was raining pretty hard a few minutes ago, anyway. Plus, Maki helped me."

Nozomi poked her head in further, beaming at the redhead that was giving her a small wave, "Hello, Makkii~"

Nodding slightly, Maki motioned to the tarot deck on the desk behind her, "You forgot these."

It seemed off that Nozomi didn't show a hint of surprise when she saw her tarot cards left on the desk—or maybe it was just Maki being overly observant. She had no idea why she was paying attention to so many small details by this second. It was all in her head, but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. Perhaps the peaceful atmosphere somehow affected her behavior—it was always calm between the two.

The exact opposite, compared to her and Nico.

Nico.

Yazawa Nico.

"—Thanks for telling me, Makkii," Nozomi's voice filled her hearing senses, catching her off guard as the name of the raven-haired girl disappeared from her thoughts. Adjusting the strap of her schoolbag, Nozomi took a card from the top of her deck, staring at it curiously. For some reason, Maki had the urge to get her bag and run out of the room, heading back home now that the weather had gone a little better. But she didn't know what she was supposed to run from, so she stayed still. Not long after, Nozomi sighed in amusement as her emerald eyes gazed towards her, a small grin on her lips. Well… now _this_ was what she should run from.

"W-what is it?" Maki frowned, focusing on Nozomi's forehead because she felt as if she would lose all the words that were on the tip of her tongue if she locked gazes with the older female.

Nozomi turned around, stashing away the deck into her bag as she flipped the card in her hand so Maki could have a good look at it—The Sun, "Had a nice talk?"

"… You're scary," Maki backed off, rubbing her upper arm. She was half-serious in this case. It was actually a good idea to go back home immediately after Nozomi came back—or at least, get out from the room so she wouldn't be trapped like this; yet she ignored it and stayed behind. Oh how she regretted it.

Nishikino Maki was being dramatic.

"Seems like you still have a question," Nozomi said as she walked towards where her best friend was standing, still having her eyes on the confused redhead, "Worry not, the answer will come to you. Anyways, why don't you come along with us?"

Of course. Of course _Maki would refuse_ , "Uh, no thanks. I can go home by myself."

"Can you, really?" Eli asked, genuinely concerned.

"I'm not a kid, you two. Sheesh…" Maki scratched her head, "… S-see you guys tomorrow, then."

"Oya~ Makkii, how cute," Nozomi giggled, getting an irritated look from the girl, "But see you tomorrow!"

"Take care, Maki," Eli said as she walked next to Nozomi, who mentioned something about parfaits and chocolate. It was a rare sight to see Eli with those puppy eyes—but maybe there were sides to her seniors that she couldn't see when everyone else was around. Interesting, if she had to say… but nothing could be more interesting than her other senior's 'other side'.

"Maaaki-chan!"

Well, there she was.

A head with a pair of twintails poked out from the other doorway—Nico. She had a small umbrella in her hand, twirling it in a playful motion as she looked at Maki with those shining red eyes of hers.

Oh.

So this was what they meant.

"Walk home with me. I saw you retreating when the rain got worse. I got another umbrella from home. You can return it to me tomorrow—Maki-chan?"

 _This_ was why Eli couldn't be the sun.

"… Yeah, yeah. Sheesh, I could have been fine waiting here all on my own to wait for the rain to stop completely," Maki for some reason felt a bit excited when she picked up her bag. Even though she knew Nico wouldn't be able to see through her, the blush on her cheeks was… _there_ , "You should be a little more polite, you know."

"Oh, sorry," Nico cleared her throat mockingly, "Would her highness The Scarlet Princess Nishikino Maki walk home with me?"

" _Please_ ," Maki rolled her eyes.

"Please?" Nico held Maki's hand in both of her hands, eyes glimmering with hope—false or not, Maki knew better.

The redhead pulled her hand away, "Ueh! That's not what I meant!"

"Geez, Maki-chan! Be more straightforward, why don't—wah!" without a single word, Maki dragged Nico away, holding the smaller hand tightly in hers. It was way too tight that Nico almost thought that Maki was upset, but apparently the younger girl's ears had turned red from all the blushing, and the sight made her blush all the same—the only difference was Nico had a (surprisingly) shy smile on her face, "… Ahh man, how troublesome."

"Sh-shut up and let's just go home you idiot," Maki used her free hand to take the small umbrella, unaware that Nico had adjusted herself so she could hold onto her hand properly.

 _Nico_ was the sun all along.

 _Maki's_ sun.

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 **A/N :** The tsundere did it again.

I'd love to make a bonding moment between Nico and Nozomi next tbh. I'll brainstorm for more ideas once I've got the next chapter of Soldier Game up so you guys don't have to wait for too long.


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